Cleansing apparatus.



J. D. HAGGERTY & F. ELMONROE. CLEANSINGAPPARATUS.

I APPLICKTION FILED JULY 23.19I4. LM?,EM Patent/ed July 20, 1915.

- 2 SHEETS-SHEET r. mi 11 RED A. Nam/P05,

: 42 ATTORNEY J.D.HAGGER1Y (21". H. MONROE.

CLEANSING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 23.

IN VEN T035 36 JOHN 0. #466597? 35%! F 50 A. MONROE.

A "UH/V6 Y tint sans PTENT canton JOHN D. HAGG ERTY, OF SUSSEX, NEW JERSEY, AND FRED R. MONROE, F MIDDLE- TOWN, NEW YURK.

CLEANSING AJPPAEATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 2&1 1915a Application filed. July 23, 1914. Serial No. 352,571.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN D. HAGGERTY and FRED R. MONROE, citizens of the United States, and residents of Sussex, in the county of Sussex and State of New Jersey, and llliddletown, in the county of Orange and State of New York, respectively, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cleansing Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to an improvement in cleansing apparatus for storage vessels, such as milk cans and the like; and especially to an apparatus by which the final stages in the cleansing operation can be'eiiected.

The primary object of our invention is to provide a construction which is capable of cleaning and sterilizing the largest possible number of vessels in a comparatively short space of time, without interruption for the when each vessel is delivered it is in perfect sanitary condition.

Otherobjects and advantages will appear from the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of our invention; the same characters of reference being employed to indicate the same parts throughout the several views.

On said drawings Figure 1 is a vertical section taken centrally through our cleansing apparatus; Fig. 2 is a top view thereof, presenting substantially a, section on the line 2.2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of our construction; Fig. 4 is a view showing in diagramcertainof the operating parts of our apparatus; and Fig. 5 is a longitudi nal section of a detail.

Our invention is designed for the purpose of finishing the operation of cleansing milk cans and other storage vessels, when, after the contents thereof have been consumed, the cans have been scrubbed out and washed preparatory to refilling. To this end it operates by injecting aplurality of cleansing agents one after another into the cans, repeating the injection as often as may be necessary to secure the desired result. Preferably the cleansing agents mentioned are water and steam; and they are admitted by turns, so that the cans are thoroughly rinsed and sterilized before being put to further use.

Our apparatus comprises a revolving support in the shape of a turn-table 1, which carries the milk cans to be cleansed, as shown at 2. The cans are placed bottom upward on the support 1; and they are supplied with the cleansing agents through a conduit 3. This conduit is preferably located in axial relation with respect to the turn-table l; and it passes from above downward through a central opening 4 in the support 1, so that the latter can turn freely around the conduit, which is stationary. lhe lower end of the conduit 3 is fixed to a part of the framework of our apparatus indicated by the numeral 5; and is thus prevented from getting out of proper position.

The support or table 1 carries a plurality of nozzles 6, which are located on the lower face thereof, and project through suitable openings to the upper face, and these nozzles are connected to the conduit 3 by means of a revolving. joint in the shapeof a head 8. This head is shown in section in F1g. 5, and it will be more fully described hereinafter. it is suliicient at this point to say that the head is mounted by means of suitable packing in a leak-proof manner on the conduit 3 below the table 1; and that there are suitable ports in the head and the conduit by which the cleansing agents are admitted to tubes or pipes 7; one of which leads to each of the nozzles 6. The nozzles 6 are preferably four in number; but obviously a greater or a less number may be employed. As will be readily understood, the nozzles 6 may be mounted in, any suitable fashion on the lower hereof the support 1, to keep them fixed in place. llhe mouths of the nozzles 6 are of course flush with the upper face of the table 1, and extend no higher.

At its upper end, the conduit 3 is connected by a 'l'coupling to a branch pipe 9, which supplies steam; and another branch pipe 10, which supplies water. Each branch is provided with a valve 11, by which it is put into and out of communication with the conduit 3. 'the valves may be of any convenient type; but we prefer to use valves of the type commonly known as whistle valves in this relation. As illustrated on the drawings, the valves 11 are inside the pipes9 and 10; but their stems 12 project outward and downward to the table 1. These stems are in the shape of elongated rods, and near their tops they have collars 13, engaged by springs 14, normally acting to force the rods downward and keep-the valves closed and the pipes 9 and 10 shut. The pipes 9 and 10 will be a considerable distance above the table 1; and the valve rods 12 will extend down to the upper face of the table; The table or support carries on its upper face a circular row of cams or dogs 15, surrounding the conduit 3; and these dogs or cams act in a manner to be presently set 'forth to raise the valve rods 12 by turns; and-thus admit steam and water by turns. to all the pipes or tubes 7 and cans 2 several times during each revo lution of the support 1.

By means of our apparatus we can treat as many cans as there are nozzles, or a less number if desired. This is because each noz- .zle.,6 is provided with its own controlling 'valve; and this valve is arranged to be actuatedby the rim of the mouth of the can when the can is placed. mouth downward over the nozzle, in such a way that the noz zle is then opened. At all other times the nozzle is kept closed. Consequently only the nozzles over which cans are placed will allow thecleansing agents to pass through them when the rods 12 are actuated to open the valves 11. Preferably the nozzles 6, along with the devices engaged by the cans for opening the valves in the nozzles, are utilized in the shape of ,a single fitting, well known to those skilled in this art; the fitting in question having a valve inside the same with a stem projecting to the outside and actuated to keep the valve closed by a suitable spring.

The fitting is indicated by the numeral 16 on the drawings; and the projecting stem of the valve therein is indicated at 17. This stem may have ahead on its outer end, and the actuating spring may encircle the stem, abutting against the head at one end'and the body of the fitting at the other. Each valve stem 17 is engaged by one arm of a bellcrank lever 18, these bellcranks 18 being pivotally mounted on the table 1; and having their upper arms arranged to project up through the table in slots or spaces 19. These slots are adjacent the openings through which the nozzles 6 pass; and when the cans are placed on the table over the nozzles, they press the upper arms of the bellcranks l8 downward and open the valves in side the nozzles 6. Hence the mere act of putting a can in place on the table 1 puts the interior of. the can into communication with the adjacent tube 7, head 8, and conrremea duit 3; so that the support 1 only needs to be set to revolving to cause the cleansing agents to be injected into the cans. Hence, as the table revolves, the rods 12 are actuated in succession to admit steam and water through the nozzles 6, or as many of them as have cans over. them, into the cans to cleanse the latter by rinsing and sterilizing in a thorough manner. The support 1 turns freely around the conduit 3 and the head 8 revolves with the support. The lower end of the conduit is closed by a suitable head or nipple 21, mounted on a crossbeam 20 in the framework 5. J

In order to make the support 1 capable of revolving, we mount on the framework 5 a circular track 22; and fix to the lower face of the support 1 legs 23 carrying at their lower ends rollers 24. The lower face of the table or support 1 also bears a circular rack 25, which meshes with a pinion26 on a shaft 27. This shaft 27 is mounted in a bearing 28 on the framework 5; and carries on its outer end a pulley 29. The pulley 29 may comprise both an operating pulley and an idler, so that the belt turning the shaft 27 may be controlled at will to start or stop the apparatus; or instead of a pulley we may use a hand-crank if desired. Very little power is needed to turn the support 1, with the cans 2 thereon; and operate the valve rods 12 to open the valves 11, by means of the dogs 15. The cans 2 are shown in dots on Fig. 2; and the valve rods 12 are omitted, alongwith the pipes 9 and 10, from the latter figure; since the parts mentioned are all above the section line 2-2.

Referring now to Fig. 5, it will be seen that the head 8 has an inside chamber 30; and four threaded holes 31 in its sides to receive the threaded ends of the tubes 7 andput these tubes into communication with the chamber 30. The head 8 also has threaded perforations 32 in the top and bottom to give passage to the conduit 3. The perforations 32 have-threads 33, located in their outer ends; andat their inner ends they have shoulders to retain packing material 34. This packing is compressed against the outside of the conduit 3 by means of glands 35; so that leakage is prevented. The conduit 3 also has a number of ports 36 by which the cleansing agents are admitted to the chamber 30.

The arrangement of the cams or dogs 15 on the table 1 around the central opening +1 for the conduit 3 is illustrated on Fig. 4. The characters 12R and I2.-L indicate the right and left hand valve rods respectively; and the dogs 15 may be regarded as divided into two pairs; one pair comprising the dogs a and b, at opposite ends of a diameter, and on the same side thereof; and the other pair comprising the dogs 0 and (l at opposite ends of another diameter, which work 5 in any convenient manner.

memesis at right angles with the first mentioned diameter, and on the same side of the second diameter as the dog a. Starting with the dog a, it will be seen that the rod 12-R is being raised and steam is being injected into the cans; and when dog a releases the rod 12R, the dog I) lifts the rod 12-L to inject water into all the cans. Next the dog 0 comes into action, lifting rod 12R for another injection of steam; and then-dog d raises 12-L to inject water. Hence the order of injection is steam, water, steam, and water. Following the dog at, the dog a engages the rod 12-L, and the cycle is reneat-ed. On this second cycle. however, wa-

ter is injected first; then steam, water, and

steam in the order named. In any case, water is in ected four times and steam as often for each revolution: and the cans can be alternately rinsed and sterilized, rinsed and sterilized as often as required.

In Figs. 2 and 3 we show how the cans to be cleansed are supplied to our apparatus and removed therefrom inan expeditious manner. The apparatus above the table 3 is housed in bya casing 37; and this casing may have an opening 38 to permit the cans 2 to enter and leave the apparatus. If desired, two separate openings; ene for en-' trance and the other for exit, may be provided instead. In front of this opening, and at the bottom thereof, on a level with the table 1, we fix a plate of metal or other suitable material formed to provide a pair of runways 39. This metal plate is fastened in place by securing it along its inner edge to a rib or ring 40, which encircles the periphery of the support or table 1, and is flush with the upper face thereof; this rib being ofcourse a part of the framework 5, and rigid therewith. The outer edge of this plate is straight; but still we give the runways 39 the shape required to make them pass the cans 2 into the opening 38 at one side and away from the opening 38 at the otherside thereof. For this purpose the plate will have curved ribs 41 on its upper face to guide the cans; see particularly Fig. 2. Associated with each runway 39 is a pulley and belt forming a conveyer; the belts being shown at 4:2 and the pulleys at 4:3. The latter are mounted on the franligemeans of these conveyers the cans or othei vessels to be cleansed may be supplied to the apparatus and discharged therefrom continuously; and the cleansing operation expeditiously and thoroughly executed. By

the use of power to turn the shaft 27, a

single attendant is enough to insure proper treatment. He simply stands between the conveyers and pushes the cans in through one side of the opening 38 with one hand;

I and pulls them out through the other side of the same opening with the other hand;

and the revolving support may carry the cans around one or more times before they are discharged from the apparatus.

It will be apparent that our apparatus is adapted to put the cans or other vessels into perfect sanitary condition for further use; and that it is capable of cleansing a very large number of cans in a very short space of time. It is therefore adapted for use in both large and small establishments; as the power required to drive it; and the amount of skilled labor to look after it when in operation is a minimum. The table 1 can be revolved at any convenient speed, and the cans allowed to remain thereon for one or more complete revolutions. Of course the conveyers 42 will be operated so as to move the cans to and from the apparatus at a corresponding rate.

We of course may use diderent sets of cams or dogs 15; and we do not desire to be restricted to the exact arrangement illustrated. For example we may employ five cams instead of four, the five being spaced equidistantly apart. In this way the steam and water will be injected five times each on every revolution; one after the other. The water will of course be at the proper temperature. 0f the two cleansing agents mentioned, the water does the rinsing, washing, or cleaning; and the steam does the sterilizing. Of course if the water is hot enough, it will have a sterilizing effect also. l/Ve do not necessarily have to use steam and water; but other cleansing agents or media may be substituted. almost any liquid or gas having the necessary chemical and physical properties may be utilized.

The track 22 may be in the form of a rail, and the rollers 24 may be formed to fit the same, so as to keep the table 1 centered. if a flat track is employed, the rib above mentioned encircling the table will be suflicient to keep the table in position to hold the rollers on the track 22. To insure correct action further, we may mount guides or hearings on the conduit 3 for the valve rods 12, as indicated in Fig. 1. p Also the ribs 41 defining the runways 39 will be extended slightly beyond the pulleys t3 and along the sides of the belts 42, so that the cans may be received and delivered without danger of falling. The direction of-motion of the conveyers and the table is indicated by arrows on Figs. 2 and t.

We wish to have it understood that we do not care to be limited to the exact size, shape and arrangement of parts herein shown and described; but reserve the right to make .such changes as choice, convenience or desi may dictate, within the scope and spirit 0 our mvention.

Having described our invention, what we believe to be new and desire to secure and For example,

protect by Letters Patent of the United 7 States is 1. In a device of the kind described, the combination of a revoluble support having a central aperture,- a conduit extending through said central aperture, a plurality of branch pipes to supply different cleansing agents connected to said conduit and located on one side of said support, a plurality of radiating tubes located on the 0pposite side of said support, and mounted to rotate therewith, means for connecting said tubes with said conduit, a nozzle at the outer end of each tube, mounted to deliver through said support, a valve in each of said branch pipes and connections actuated by said support to open said valves in succession.

2. The combination of a circular support having a flat upper face, means for rotatably mounting said support in horizontal position, said support having a central aperture, a conduit extending through said aperture, a plurality of branch pipes to supply diiierent cleansing agents connected to said conduit above said support, a pluralitv of radiating tubes below said support and mounted to revolve therewith, means for connecting said tubes to said conduit, a

nozzle at the outer end of each tube mounted to deliver through said support, a normally closed valve in each of said branch pipes, a rod extending from each of said valves toward said support, and dogs on the upper surface of said support to actuate said rods to open each of said valves by turns;

3. In a device of the kind described, the combination of a revoluble support having a flat surface, a central aperture and a plurality of openings arranged around the central aperture, a fixed conduit extending amet through said central aperture a plurality of branch pipes to supply different cleansin agents connected to said conduit on one side of said support, a plurality of radiating tubes located on the opposite side of said support and mounted to rotate therewith, means roviding a movable joint to connect said tubes with said conduit, nozzles at the outer ends of said tubes mounted in position to deliver through said openings, a valve in eachof said branch pipes and connections actuated by said support to open said valves in succession.

4. The combination of a circular support having a fiat upper face, means forrotatably mounting said support in horizontal position, said support having a. central aperture and a plurality of openings arranged around said aperture, a fixed conduit extending downward through said aperture, a

plurality of branch pipes to supply different cleansing agents connected to said conduit above said support, a pluralit of radiating tubes below said support an mounted to revolve therewith, means providing a movable joint to connect said tubes to said conduit, nozzles at the outer ends of said tubes to deliver through said openings, a normally closed valve in each of said branch pipes, a rod extending from each of said valves toward said support, and dogs onthe upper surface of said support to actu-' ate said rods to open each of said valves by turns.

Signed at borough of Sussex, in the county of Sussex and State of New Jersey, this seventh day of July A. D. 1914. v

. JOHN D. HAGGERTY.

FRED R. MONROE. Witnesses: a

E. M. STANTON, RosELLo CLARK. 

